Egypt Court Adds Major Sisi Opposition Leader to 'Terrorist' List

Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh during an interview in Cairo in 2011 (AFP/File)

An Egyptian court on Tuesday ordered that Abdel Moneim Aboul-Fotouh, a prominent opposition figure, be added to Egypt’s list of “terrorists," according to Egypt’s official Middle East News Agency.

The ruling is set to go into effect 60 days from its announcement.

Last week, public prosecution authorities ordered that Aboul-Fotouh be detained for 15 days so he might answer charges of having “led and revived an outlawed group” and “spread false news”.

The leader of Egypt’s opposition Strong Egypt Party, Aboul-Fotouh was detained last Wednesday -- one day after he visited London where he had criticized Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi in an interview with Qatar’s Al Jazeera news channel.

A prominent politician, Aboul-Fotouh had been a leading a member of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood before splitting from the group and running for president as an independent candidate in Egypt’s first free election in 2012.

Egypt is currently gearing up to hold presidential elections late next month in which al-Sisi hopes to secure a second term in office.